Salmon factory ship owner still optimistic that the Gannet will take off
Losses increased for Hav Line last year but company points to increased harvest volume in 2023
The owner of the salmon farming factory ship Norwegian Gannet made another loss in 2022, Fish Farming Expert's Norwegian sister site, Kyst.no, reports.
Hav Line Group AS is the parent company of the company behind the Gannet, a large vessel used to slaughter salmon at the cage edge and process the fish as they are transported to the company’s packaging plant in Hirtshals in Denmark.
The concept had prompted fears that it will lead to the loss of processing jobs along Norway’s remote coastal locations where there are often few alternative employment opportunities.
In the annual accounts, the company writes that the introduction of its new processing on board concept, together with the effects of Covid-19, had resulted in a lower harvest volume and higher operating costs than desired in the first years of operation.
Increasing efficiency
“Through the experiences gained since the launch in 2019, an ever-increasing efficiency in the process and quality of the end product has been achieved,” the company said in its annual report.
Operating losses increased from NOK -37 million (£2.85m) in 2021 to NOK -50m last year.
The company had a result in 2022 after tax of NOK -40.4 million compared to NOK -29.7m for 2021. The main reason for the increased deficit was increased costs of NOK 35.5m related to operating the Norwegian Gannet.
Hav Line writes that the company’s share capital has been lost and shareholders have dug into their pockets.
“Strategic measures have been put in place to ensure future earnings and the re-establishment of capital. The shareholders have given NOK 101.7 million in loans which have ensured the company sufficient liquidity.”
Positive earnings
Despite the red numbers, the company now expresses that it is positive about the future.
“The positive development in the way the concept has worked in recent years means that the board expects that income will increase and give the group positive earnings going forward. In the first half of 2023, the development in volume has greatly improved compared to the first half of 2022, and the group reports a positive result at the end of May 2023.
“Based on the outlook for future operations, including the plans and forecasts that the company has drawn up, it is expected that there will be sufficient liquidity to ensure operations in the group for the next 12 months.”
Hav Line also points out that in 2021 the company received a 10-year dispensation from Section 17 of the Fish Quality Regulations. In practice, the dispensation gives Hav Line Gruppen exclusive rights to the company’s business concept.
